Other than one online merchant that goes above and beyond on proper livestock raising and/or sourcing, I refuse to eat chicken or pork anymore. Proper fed cows are easy, but the chickens and pigs seems to exist in a regulatory grey zone where its harder to figure out how they are raised so I just go with the certainty of local beef
Discussion
there is local Pasture Raised poultry as an option in most areas also, but I agree that it is difficult to trust any grocery store poultry regardless of labels
Sadly only one place i know of with good poultry, at least by my standards. Oddly enough though, i have access to quality eggs (pasture raised with non-gmo and soy free supplemental feed)
it's definitely a complex market, as a producer it is tough to balance my standards against market demands for lower pricing. Pasture Raised birds being a niche themselves, further niching down to soy free, organic, whole grain, etc greatly increases costs in my region and has pushed me out of the market in the past.
I've settled on ducks rather than chickens and what I call "conventional organic" feed, ie certified organic but still contains soy and is sold in crumbles. if I were to upgrade feed I'd either have to grow my market by 15-30x current size and maintain razor thin margins or greatly increase prices and lose what little market I've got.
I couldnt begin to imagine the headaches you have to deal with. But, I am very grateful for what you and those like you do. My state (PA) is quite amenable to small farming and that I am also grateful for. Swore off cafo maybe a decade ago and gonna be hard pressed to ever eat that slop again.